Codex Version 2
by MintyFeet
Summary: There's a history to everything, from the guns we carry into battle, to those mysterious red barrels that seem to be everywhere. Codex Version 2 is one fan's idea of the lore and story behind the things we Tenno take for granted.
1. Chapter 1: MK-1 Braton

Orlas Lucsor grinned as his forge sputtered, shrieked, and howled. Technically, the plasma sparks spraying out of the front of the link bay signified something going horribly wrong, but frankly, the fact that Orlas had managed to jury-rig his entire foundry to even accept the ancient Orokin Template he'd paid two years' salary for was enough to help him ignore that fact. Every sparking wire, every flickering light, every table covered in piles of papers, data-mass and half-disassembled prototypes, every broken reactor core that littered the floor: each filled him with a glee Orlas could barely contain.

"Ferrarius Lucsor?"

Orlas tore his gaze away from the wondrous sight of the Orokin Template being sprayed with a month's supply of liquid coolant to find a young man in the doorway of his laboratory, glancing nervously at the exposed wiring that hung from the ceiling and showers of sparks that occasionally rained from the walls.

"Come to watch the show, have you?" Orlas laughed and waved the young man in. "You've arrived just in time! What's your name, my young fellow?"

The young man shuddered as he stepped into the lab, ducking under a section of exposed pipes and coolant tubes. "Alad V, sir. Apologies, Ferrarius; I have not come to observe your work, but rather to inform you that-"

"Warning," blared a nearby intercom, cutting him off. "Reactor levels in this sector exceeding safe parameters. Coolant reserves in this sector at three percent above critical levels. Thermal bleeders at maximum capacity. Plasma transfer systems at maximum capacity. Plasma restrictors at maximum capacity. Estimated time to system overload: thirty minutes. Initiating safety limiters."

The blacksmith picked up a nearby piece of machinery and threw it at the speaker. It bounced off harmlessly with a dull thud.

"Attention," the intercom responded. "Please do not deface or vandalize public property. Violation of the public safety code-"

"Void take you, you insipid robot," Orlas yelled. "Ferrarius Orlas Lucsor, override code F1-FR21 E1. Disable all safeties in the Forge bay."

"Override accepted. Disabling safety limiters. Please exercise caution."

After a brief bout of cackling, Orlas clapped Alad on the shoulder. "Sorry, Alad. What were you saying?"

Alad was sorely tempted to run screaming from the madman that stood in front of him. Alad had heard of the "Genius of Io," and while Alad considered himself a stoic man, he was utterly unprepared for the wild, bearded, unwashed man whose face had the look of a man whose mind was long gone.

"Like I was saying, Chairman Bek wanted me to inform you that building you replacement labs is quite expensive, and that he can't pay for your expenses forever. He would like to remind you to be more careful with your experiments in the future."

Orlas raised an eyebrow, while a red warning light near the output bay of the foundry flashed. "Well, you can tell the old fart that I am a paragon of caution," Orlas responded cheerfully, pounding a large red button marked "override" on a nearby wall. "Anything else, boy?"

"Uh, yes. He also wanted to know how your work on the prototype was going."

Orlas smiled. "Well, how about you wait for a bit, and I'll show you?"

Alad resisted the urge to shake his head. "Well, I do have other errands to be getting to, Ferrarius." He politely declined to mention his desire to not die in a not-entirely-unexpected accident.

"Oh, come on, Alad! Just wait for a...few...seconds!"

The output bay of the forge popped open halfway.

Then the power went out.

Then it came back on, and a blocky, gunmental-grey rifle shot out of the forge and embedded itself into a wall less than a metre above Alad's head.

As Alad did his best not to pass out, Orlas leapt forward and dug the rifle out of the wall with a mighty pull, his strength barely correlating to his thin, wiry frame.

"And there you have it, lad," Orlas said, handing the rifle to Alad. "Take this back to Bek. If you don't mind, I've got a forge to rebuild and set up for mass production."

Taking the rifle gingerly and shaking slightly, Alad made his way to the doorway before pausing. "Why do you need to rebuild your forge?"

The ceiling collapsed.

Alad jumped out of the doorway and wheeled around; Orlas' muffled voice came from beneath the rubble. "Because the ceiling is going to collapse. I'm fine. Just need a minute to rest. Go on, get!"

Alad didn't bother protesting; he was all too happy to leave the man be.

* * *

[Excerpt taken from _Strike True: The Datafeed Of Choice For The Loyal Corpus Crewmember, Volume 190 Issue 240_]

**NEW SERVICE RIFLE TO BE ADOPTED FOLLOWING TRIALS **

**This feed has been brought to you by Solan. Solan: the finest milspec combat suits your credits can buy. Discounts for service members! Ask us about our loyalty program.**

_Recent uprisings in the Venus sector and light skirmishes with Grineer patrols, pirates and saboteurs have revealed critical weaknesses with our current small-arms, especially those issued to units faced with on-ship combat. In light of this, a call was put out for a new service rifle one year ago; 346 prototypes passed the first phase of inspection and testing half a year ago; only three remained as of yesterday._

_From Luvor &amp; Nano, we have the Pugnus Revision 2, an upgrade for the currently-in-service Pugnus and Pugnus Revision 1. Two newcomers, Lucsor Forge and Jvala Industries, have also stepped up to the plate, with the Mark 1 Braton and the Dera Alpha respectively. _

_Thanks to some friends of ours, we managed to get our hands on these rifles and test them on the firing line. You'll find our results below._

**PUGNUS REVISION 2**

Designers: Luvor &amp; Nano

Projectile: L&amp;N Crewman-Pattern Slug (TM)

Action: Semi-automatic with Varlo Robotics MiniFeed (TM) Capacitor

Magazine: Twenty round detachable magazine

Rate of fire: ~60 RPM

Charge speed (ten rounds): 1.1 seconds

IPS: 2 / 0.5 / 1

Charged IPS (ten rounds): 8 / 2 / 4

The updated version of the current Pugnus features a faster rate of fire, a faster charge time, double the magazine capacity and improved ballistics across the board. The design of the Pugnus R2 is still primarily based off of the Pugnus M2s seen on standard MOA robotics, and while such design elements may have been cutting-edge ten to twenty years ago, it seems hopelessly outdated now. The charging mechanic, meant to encourage accurate fire, is made more palatable thanks to the larger magazine capacity, but two charged shots fails to address earlier complaints about running out of ammo. Reliability has also been improved: we went through twenty-five magazines, and the rifle jammed twice, and was easy to clear by racking the bolt.

Luvor &amp; Nano have previously stated that "volume of aimed fire" is the best way to use the Pugnus series, and while there's nothing wrong with that in open areas, it makes the boarding action many of our readers have been seeing less than optimal. The fixed stock and long length of the rifle don't make it any better; L&amp;N have stated they'll be coming out with a carbine variant, but haven't given an estimated release date.

In the mean time, soldiers and crewmen will likely continue to cut down their rifles themselves: a solution that makes the gun easier to use, but removes the accurate firing and charging mechanic that the PR-2 leans so heavily on. Recoil has been improved over the original and the R1 variant, which means most of our readers are going to want to stick with the semi-automatic mode, and frankly, without the charging mechanic the R2 is really a sub-par weapon. Faced with the competition, it looks like the designers at L&amp;N are going to need to step up their game.

**Mark 1 Braton**

Designers: Lucsor Forge

Projectile: Bek Armoury SolarStandard (TM) Rifle Cartridge

Action: Semi-automatic, Automatic

Magazine: 60 round detachable magazine

Rate of Fire: 348 RPM

IPS: 2 / 4 / 10

Touted as the first-ever small-arm re-engineered from an Orokin template, the MK-1 Braton is an absolute blast to use. Compared to the Pugnus R2, it shoots faster, hits harder, and is only slightly less accurate. Recoil is easy to manage, and while the gun is certainly not going to win any awards for ergonomics or aesthetics, it's comfortable enough. It's also a bullpup weapon, lending it a compact size: perfect for fighting in the tight corridors of ships. The Bek Armoury GSammunition is also cheaper than the expensive railgun slugs and plasma cores that the Pugnus R2 and the Dera**-**α use. The gun's also reliable: we couldn't figure out a way to make the gun jam. Void knows we spent hours trying to fill the gun with sand, water, dust; short of dumping an entire magazine into the side of the thing, we're pretty sure you won't have an issue with it.

We're especially excited about the amount of damage this thing does to armoured and unarmoured targets. We've had lots of reports from readers who've been facing Grineer that their PR-1s often don't event make a dent in their armour, and we've even heard of enemies boarders taking multiple L&amp;N slugs to the chest without so much as flinching. With the MK-1 Braton, though, that's not an issue. We here at Strike honestly believe this is the perfect weapon for our men and women fighting the Grineer filth out there.

**Dera (Alpha version)**

Designers: Jvala Industries

Projectile: Superheated Plasma

Action: Automatic only

Magazine: Power source classified; LuxTech Heatkiller (TM) Heatsinks (can bleed thirty shots before requiring a reload), internal magazine holds up to ten heatsinks

Rate of Fire: 600RPM

IPS: 12 / 64 / 4

This prototype plasma gun is an absolute beast. We were having a hard time testing out the gun on the firing line because the Grineer prisoners kept dying from single shots; the IPS stats listed are just the ones we got from the Jvala Industries representative that was with us. Theoretically, this gun is leaps and bounds ahead of anything we've ever seen before: Jvala Industries calls this prototype "the future of Corpus small-arms," and frankly we believe them. Like the MK-1 Braton, it's not comfortable to hold, and the Dera-α is also frustratingly heavy. Jvala also claims that the extra weight is due to security locks and protective shielding, but we'd still like them to try and make this thing lighter.

We asked what exactly powers the gun, but were met with a strict insistence that that info is need-to-know, and that such information will be "released when necessary." If this truly is the next step in infantry weapons, we understand: any designer with half a brain is going to want to crack one of these things open and take a look inside.

Sadly, there's one huge knock against the gun: it's dangerous, and not just to the things you're shooting at. Whatever powers the damn things isn't exactly stable: several of the prototypes stopped working and couldn't be fixed by the engineers at the firing range, and another actually exploded and wounded Cyrus, one of our interns. Thankfully, he only lost his hand and a chunk of his arm, but we're not reassured by having guns explode in our hands. Clearly this prototype series needs some issues resolved; once the Dera-α no longer maims the people using it, we'll happily look at it again.

Well, Cyrus probably won't.

* * *

**Codex 2.0: MK-1 Braton**

Designed by Lucsor Forge of the Corpus, the MK-1 Braton is a rugged, simple rifle, which was revolutionary for its time. Utilizing an imitation of the Phase Engine and Void Inductor found in the original Braton Prime, this Corpus knock-off set a new standard for small-arms in the solar system. Trillions of MK-1 Bratons were produced, and the rifle was adopted by both the Corpus and Grineer, as well as private militias, rebel groups, and law enforcement throughout the solar system.

Variants of the MK-1 were also produced, although the standard model remained the most popular for quite some time. Despite Lucsor Forge going on to continue its work developing reverse-engineered Orokin technology and producing newer weapons and updated versions of the Braton series of rifles, the MK-1 still sees widespread use today.

Newly awoken Tenno are issued the MK-1 as a trial of sorts. The weapon is balanced enough that new Tenno may figure out what aspects of combat they would like to focus on and what type of weapon they would like to move on to. Mastery of the basics of effective weapon operation is an absolute must to ascend in the ranks of Tenno culture, and the MK-1 is cheap and effective enough to suit that purpose.

Older, more experienced Tenno have sometimes questioned providing an underpowered, old weapon to the newly awoken, and often argue that low-ranked Tenno would be better served having access to readily-available and better weaponry; others argue that issuing an underpowered weapon (relatively speaking) serves to challenge those of low rank and to give them incentive to work on their skills to upgrade to a better weapon.

**Codex 2.0: Orlas Lucsor**

_"_Void take this forsaken template! Stand back, people- Orokin be blessed, I'm going to build me a fucking Warframe, or I'll die trying!_" - Lucsor's last words, as recorded in the his biography: Orlas Lucsor: The Genius of Io_

Orlas Lucsor, commonly referred to by the Corpus as the "Genius of Io," was an inventor, scientist, and priest within the Corpus cult. While much of his early life remains a mystery, it is known that he was born to fairly well-off parents, attended the prestigious Themisto Church Of The Mechanic, and graduated from there in the middle of his class. He then disappeared for several hundred years, occasionally returning for a week here and there to deliver blueprints and file patents for simple inventions. After seven hundred years, he returned to life in the Jupiter sector, and settled down. The money made off of his patents hundreds of years ago was enough to fund his desires: to create a company of his own. Lucsor Forge was founded not long after, and for several decades was primarily involved with the production of small to medium sized foundries for other companies, although his experiments with condensing the size and power draw of said foundries often met with explosive results. Orlas was eventually approached by Frohd Bek, CEO of Bek Armouries, and was offered a deal: to compete in a trial to invent and produce a new service rifle for the Corpus armies.

Lucsor, who was beginning to suffer financially (mostly due to his habit of destroying and rebuilding his labs repeatedly over the course of several experiments), agreed on the condition that Bek finance his research, development, and construction costs for his labs. Bek agreed, and together the two produced what would become the Braton series of rifles. The MK1 Braton, which was a runaway success, would give both Bek and Lucsor fame, standing and money; Bek would go on to join the Corpus Board of Directors, and Lucsor began to pass his gunsmithing work onto others as he experimented more and more with Orokin technology. He would pass away a century and a half later in a catastrophic lab accident- coming as a surprise to absolutely nobody.


	2. Chapter 2, Part 1: Dragon Nikana

"Operator, your Dragon Nikana is complete. I suggest you retrieve it from the foundry at your earliest convenience."

Kala gingerly took the sword from its stasis field, and unsheathed it. The blade sang through the air and hummed in her hands. Sheathing the sword, Kala simply stood still.

"Operator, it's been several minutes since you've move-"

"Quiet, Ordis." It was a raspy, intense voice.

Ordis had never heard Kala speak.

Ordis remained silent.

"Bring us to the Void. First set of Void coordinates we ever flew to. Quickly, please."

* * *

"_Grand Forgemaster, may I enter?"_

_Sebastien Jimmu glanced up from his foundry. "Yes, yes, come in."_

_A pale, young woman with as much scar as face walked in. She wore a simple robe and soft tabi, and her Uru brushed quietly against the sword slung from her waist as the medals beneath her robe clinked together._

"_Ah. Oya," Jimmu said quietly, standing up from his chair. "How was the last incursion? Please, take a seat," he said, gesturing to a nearby mat on the floor._

"_Oya?" The woman smiled warmly as she knelt in front of Sebastien. "Nobody calls me that anymore, Grand Forgemaster. I have not heard my name in any form beyond 'Warmistress Nusku' in many years."_

_The old man sat down once more, his laughing interrupted by a wet cough. "Oh, excuse an old man's mind and body for forgetting, hmm? And you'll not be calling me by that long-winded drivel. You call me Sebastien, and I shall not refer to you as Warmistress while you grace me with your presence."_

"_Thank you, Sebastien. The last incursion went as well as it could have," Oya replied, her smile fading away. "Eight hundred fell in the last assault, and six thousand will not be combat-ready for many days."_

_Jimmu nodded slowly. "Mmm. Against the Foe, those are excellent results, Oya."_

_The foundry crackled and hissed in the background for several minutes as Oya closed her eyes._

_Finally, she responded. "I cannot say I am pleased."_

"_Do you tire of war, Oya?"_

"_Never, Sebastien. It simply pains me to see more and more of the Initiates be wounded or killed before killing their first enemy. What good is it for us to raise the young, garb them in armour and outfit them with armament, if they are to fall without feeding their swords-"_

_Oya felt a sharp rap on her head; Jimmu had hit her on the head with an extendable cane. "And what, girl, do you mean to imply? That we should cease our fighting? Would you turn your back on your people, your subordinates, your masters?_

"_Absolutely not, Sebastien," cried Oya. "You insult my honour! I serve the Orokin and the Tenno in all things. I am a Warmistress! It is my duty to know and love war closely, and I hunger for the blood of the Foe at this very moment!"_

_Sebastien smiled, and retracted the cane back into his arm. "I had to be sure the fire still burnt in you, girl. Too many have turned their backs on their history; too many have lost their taste for the hunt. Still, you would not say such things lest you sought my counsel."_

_Oya let out a sound resembling a hiss, and a light shower of sparks fell from her robe. "I want better armaments, Sebastien. My greatest warriors have the duty of guiding their weaker comrades into battle, and their weapons have been failing them at their most crucial moments."_

"_Oh? Surely, then, you would speak with the Orokin Armourers, then? I research and tinker, but little of what I make here is fit to be mass produced, girl."_

_Oya drew her nikana from within her robes and presented it to Sebastien. Its alloy plate hilt was warped and burnt beyond recognition, and the blade was charred and chipped in several places._

"_What the FUCK did you do to this sword, girl?" Sebastien leapt out of his chair, and placed the sword into the suspension chamber of his foundry. "No, no no no no no. That's not possible. What sort of monstrosity did you encounter out there? What sort of, of, horror produces enough heat to melt argon-treated oxium? And the forma binding, that's, no, that's impossible. You fought something that could damage my binders, and you're not dead? How?"_

_Oya grunted. "Sebastien, I did that. My fire did that."_

_Sebastien whirled around. "Pardon?"_

"_I was at the frontlines of an assault on a heavily-guarded Sentient fortress. Most of my personal guard were injured, unable to continue fighting. I fought on. Now the fortress is a pile of ashes, and my blade is chipped."_

_Sebastien took several deep breaths, and sank into his chair. "That is impressive, girl. You have come a long way since you first came here. Still, your fire; that worries me. I am, without question, amongst the finest smiths in the galaxy, and I can say that the potency of fire needed to damage my blades can in no way be beneficial to its wielder."_

"_Many doctors and medics have tested me, and I seem to be in good health, Sebastien," said Oya, shaking her head. "It isn't just me, either. Kala managed to dissolve several sections of her nikana. Durandal shattered his in half during a particularly long battle. Savart managed to bend hers in half. The list goes on, Sebastien."_

_The old blacksmith scratched at his beard for a moment, then nodded. "You grow stronger. We grow stronger."_

"_Yes."_

"_Why do you think this is happening?"_

_Oya looked into Sebastien's eyes, then at the floor. "Our training moulds us into warriors, and the Foe moulds the weak into the strong."_

"_Do you believe that? Not as Warmistress for the Orokin, but as Grandmaster for the Tenno."_

"_It plays a part, I think."_

_Sebastien tapped his cane on the floor. "Go on..."_

"_But the more likely explanation is that our connection to the Void grows stronger. I do not know if it is a product of time, or if the blood of our enemies makes the bond stronger. Perhaps this power has only revealed itself in this time of crisis. Regardless, the outcome is the same: many of us Tenno are outpacing the armaments that the Orokin Crafters and our own Forges produce."_

"_And," Sebastien replied, glancing back at the damaged nikana in his forge, "have you not seen fit to raise this issue with the Orokin Armourers?"_

"_I have, Sebastien. Many of them believe that this...outburst...of power is an irregularity, that the Craftworks cannot spare the time to research armaments befitting the elite that serve them."_

"_And what of the others, Oya?"_

_Oya grit her teeth and hissed again; a blue-gold flame flickered around her hair and her fingers. "I cannot possibly fathom any reason our rulers would deny us our tools."_

_Sebastien rose from his chair again, and sauntered over to his forge. He fiddled idly with a few holoscreens suspended above the nikana for a minute, and the sword dipped out of view into the Void Inductor behind the suspension tank._

_There was another minute of quiet._

"_I don't suppose," Sebastien said, his voice almost a whisper, "that our great Orokin allies would fear us, would they? Many people do fear us, Oya."_

"_As it should be, Sebastien."_

"_And, hypothetically speaking, there could be those who guide and direct our war effort who fear us as much as they need us, no?"_

"_Hypothetically, yes," spat Oya. "But such dishonour and shameful action is naturally above the temperament of the noble class who guide our martial power. To accuse such great and mighty leaders would be treason."_

"_I think," Sebastien said, reverting to his normal voice, "that it is good to be feared. The enemies of the Tenno know our strength, and if they do not, they know it sooner rather than later. In such a perilous time, when we are locked in war, I think it is best to capitalize on that fear. The enemy, in all its forms, inside and out, should fear us. They do fear us."_

"_Rightly so."_

"_And so it shall be. I will rebuild your sword for you, Oya. The Lotus will let you know when to return. Hayden willing, my new nikana will be a worthy companion for you and the other Grandmasters."_

_Oya stood up, and brushed off the cushion she had been kneeling on. She bowed, and turned to leave for her quarters. She stopped at the door and turned her head. "Thank you, Sebastien."_

_Sebastien narrowed his eyes. "No, thank you, Oya. And if you ever have any more concerns regarding today's counsel, please feel free to return."_

_His grip on his cane tightened; the rubedo handle began to crack. _

"_I imagine, girl, that we will be having more of these meetings in the future. And I look forward to them."_

* * *

Kala stared at the ruined Orokin Tower floating in front of the Liset, shed her helmet, and cried silent tears for many minutes. The tears hissed as they hit the floor of the Liset, but Ordis decided that his scathing remarks would be best saved for another time. Even the Operator's mutt seemed unsure of what to do, beyond whimpering quietly in its corner.

At long last, Kala wheeled around as her helmet reformed around her head. She stormed down to the foundry, unsheathed the blade of the Dragon Nikana, and placed it onto the stasis field. "Ordis, please form a direct line from the Void Inductor to my Warframe's energy intake fields."

"Yes, Operator."

Kala grit her teeth, and focused her poison onto the blade. Lord Jimmu's original design could stand up to the strength of the mightiest Tenno, but it hadn't been designed to withstand the concentrated essence of the Void. Still, the blade put up a fight; by the time Kala was finished her work, her hands were entirely covered in chemical burns and her Warframe was bleeding heavily.

"Ordis. Bring me to somewhere with many Grineer. I must test my blade, and feed it. It hungers."

Ordis looked at the blade through his cameras. Etched onto the blade were three letters: O, Y, A. He was about to ask how three letters could possibly be important enough to cover his pristine, just-cleaned floors with several layers of blood and acid burns when Kala stared straight at the camera.

"NOW, Ordis. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Operator."

* * *

**Codex 2.0: Sebastien Jimmu**

"...fear us...our gun and sword. They should...ideas are...munition... sharp mind...sword." _Restored audio-log recovered from an Orokin Vault__  
_

As with many pre-fall figures, precise details have been lost on Sebastien Jimmu. From the recovered Orokin Archive files found so far, some Orokin record-keepers appear to paint him as the stereotypical artist, unwilling to work except when he found the parameters of a project desirable; Jimmu appears to have accepted many commissions from Orokin nobility, and fulfilled less than a quarter of those orders. He is also alleged to have copied the designs of many Orokin artifacts and weapons, and one Orokin nobleman refers to him as a "purveyor of cheap imitations and plebian forgery."

Tenno documents, which are even rarer, tell a different story. Jimmu, as remembered by the Tenno, appears to have been a crucial component of the Orokin war machine, crucial in designing, maintaining and refining everything from pre-fab defenses and transport ships to service rifles and shield technology. Several Tenno-pattern weapon blueprints have been recovered, and his refinements and design touches can be seen in everything from the Soma rifle to the Vauban Warframe (which bears several digital signatures of his in the bioprogramming sub-layer.)


End file.
